Voyage Of Snakes
by insertjokehere
Summary: The courier, wandering the unforgiving waste of the Mojave wasteland created by atomic detonations. The land is beyond dangerous, but is far from lonely.
1. Caravan blues I

The mourning was over now and the afternoon had begun, which meant that happy hour has started. Cass got up from her bunk bed and waddled over to her usual seat, in the shadows but near the bartender. It's been two weeks since she got hold up at the I-15 and got news that her caravan had turned to ash. Two weeks of nothing but whiskey, getting in bar fights and spending every last cap until she had to turn back to California although that didn't sound very appealing to her. But what else was she supposed to do? Cass still had the name of the caravan with her even though its nothing but scrap metal and broken dreams but that changed that day.

A good looking guy walked in who looked like a Merc from her point. He was North American, had a buzz-cut then a pre-war military grade helmet on top of that. His armor was the same pre-war military body armor which looked brand new considering the nearly none worn out color and no holes in it other than a few dents on the helmet. He sat on a stool next to her and ordered all the scotch bottles in place. Amused, Cass spoke out

"you must be real rich to but something like that, you work with the casinos or something?". He looked at Cass funny as if it was his first time talking to anybody then a small smile broke out of him and replied.

"No, I work with anybody who can pay me"

"So you're a Merc?"

"I guess so"

When he finished the bartender laid down ten bottles of scotch in front of him and he began opening one of them and putting the rest in his pack.

"Hey it's Cass, you?"

"Courier"

"I meant name not line of work"

"It's courier"

"so your names courier? Wonder what your parents were thinking when they named you."

"I don't know, just stuck to me so much that I forgot my real name, or maybe that was the bullet"

"You got shot, where?

"Goodsprings"

"Hey, you're that courier that got shot in the head; it's all over the radio"

"You noticed"

"So what's brings a survivor of death here?"

"Your name is Cass right, in Cassidy caravan's right?"

"Yeah…why?"

"Crimson caravans wants to buy you out"

Handing over the old worn out piece with the writing telling that she would be paid two-thousand caps to give the name of her caravan to crimson caravan. She felt her heart had just skipped a beat and felt like punching the guy to death but cooled off when she took a long swing of whiskey drinking the entire bottle.

"they want to buy Cassidy caravans? Don't they know it's burned to ash? No…even times being what they are, not sure I'm looking to sell, even for all the whiskey in reno."

"you haven't even seen the offer yet."

"if someone came up to you and said they will offer you a thousand caps for your name, would you take it? Actually, you know what? Fuck it, I don't want to hear your awnser anyway. Point is, I made the caravan what it is, it's mine."

"I have the offer letter here, the terms are fair."

"Alice Mclafferty, eh? No, I see the zero's…and I know she's good for them. Its not about the money, dad will spin like a twister if he ever heard I sold our name for anything"

"Are you sure?"

"Look, I know you came all this way, and that takes some drive, especially these days. Just doesn't feel right, trading history for a slip of paper."

"Look I'm prepared to offer you the terms, plus 750 caps"

Cass smiled a bit; it's been a while since a smile broke out of her. She felt pitted that the same courier that got shot in the head and survived had came all the way from Goodsprings to the outpost then to crimson caravan and back is throwing his money away to make her sign the damn thing. She thought then spoke.

"You're obviously putting your money where your mouth is…on top of that offer letter, that is a lot of caps. Still, what makes you think that's enough? What, you think I'm cheap?"

"Far from it, to turn down the original terms"

Cass took a deep breath then sighed as she made her final decision.

"Alright, it's a deal. Uh, can't believe I'm parting with it."

She signed the slip of paper with a worn black pen from her pocket and wrote her name in full to officially turn it over.

"all right…there you go, caravans yours…feel kinda relived actually. guess I didn't know how much I was carrying till you came along" she said while handing over the completed form. The courier reached his right hand to retrieve it, and as he did he asked a question that lingered in his mind.

"what will you do now?"

"Don't know…maybe head back west? Though going back there with my tail between my legs isn't so appealing"

Courier looked down at the slip of paper folded neatly between his fingers then at Cass who looked like she was going to the grave soon and answered back.

"you could come with me, I could use some extra hands"

Cass scoffed "go with you? And why the hell will I do that?"

"Stay here and you'll know exactly what's going to happens day-in and day-out"

"So fighting boredom is your argument, huh? Walking the Mojave with you cant be any worse than here, that's for sure. Alright, I'm in"

They got off from there stools and where headed out to the Mojave but Cass was having a bit of trouble getting up from her seat as if she hadn't stood in weeks. The courier stepped outside onto the soft desert sand then walked toward the gate and about to head back to Alice to collect his caps until Cass spoke out when they made it pass the metal gateway.

She breathed in all the fresh air she could then exhaled in a strong sigh and looked over to the courier.

"well, now that I'm free of the outpost, I was wondering if you mind making a detour. I'd like to pay my respects to the end of Cassidy caravans, check out the sight where they died." Walking over to the him then stopping in front.

"where were they hit?"

She sighed and answered"up side of Vegas, hear tell. Trapped at the Mojave outpost so I couldn't run there when I heard. Been weeks since it been hit so the sites probably a cazador nest by now."

"how did you catch word?"

"got word back on what happened from rangers, guess they found enough in the wreckage to identify it.'

"think there's anything left of it?"

Cass sighed again" only wishful thinking on my part, most likely. At the least, I'd like to pay my respects. I got them in to this mess, I owe them that much. As for the cargo, there's probably nothing left of it, if you do find anything that'll be your pay for the trip"

Courier silently chuckled "alright then, lefts move on"

A-N:_New chapter every Friday so enjoy them while you can!_


	2. Novac

_The night was brighter than most as the fire of burning buildings raged on like hell itself. The screams of townspeople as they were killed echoed in his mind, the couriers mind. And the only defense was a small band of armed country folk no more than ten._

"_Fall back! Fall back!"_

"_No hold your positions!"_

"_Their coming!"_

"_Shoot! Shoot them all!"_

"_Open fire!"_

The courier gasped for air in his motel room. It was mourning, checking his pip-boy it was six. He was sweating hard; so much the bed he was sleeping on was moist. He sat up right looking through the boarded Window into the sunrise of the Mojave sun that chilled him in an unfamiliar way. He thought about the dream, about who he was really. No answers just more questions the longer he sat, soon an hour passed and checked his pip-boy again. 'seven o'clock' it told him and that got him off the bed into his gear. He strapped on his pulled up his thick dark green trousers, slipped in his leather boots, fastened the strap of his body armor and finally put on his pre-war helmet. He didn't thought about his bag which held most of his weapons except a hidden combat knife inside his vest and a 9mm pistol by his thigh.

Figuring that courier would be staying here for a bit because of hinted information and for Cass to realize that there's no whiskey in Novac and getting over that she will be away from whiskey until they reach Vegas. The courier opened the door of his motel room to be met with the small town of Novac, with only the giant green dinosaur as a familiar marker to travelers. He looked over to the room Cass was sleeping at right next to his. Thinking about the plan for the day was simple, find information on where this guys with the checkered coat was, and restock on essentials for the trip to boulder city to the local bar so Cass would stop bickering about her precious _"alcohol" _she kept saying. The courier wiped the thought away from his mind temporarily and walked toward the stairs.

Dinky the dinosaur was to say, a bit of old world blues and a marvel to look at even though the entrance wasn't so friendly.

The old stairs looked as if they were gonna break off if anyone stepped on them. The dried wooden pillars looked as like they once were used at a harbor and the steps to the door were covered in Mojave dust with foot prints plastered on them. Cautiously, he walked up the steps one by one as if it was built near a cliff then slid through the door to be greeted by a clerk sitting on a worn stool with red cushion on top. He looked bored when he first glanced at the man who then almost jumped up at the sight the courier as a potential customer.

"Welcome to the dino-delight gift shop, if you're here for the t-rex figurines your in luck, there's still a few left, I'm cliff" the clerk excitedly

The courier felt a bit of sudden shock from the sudden greet from a stranger before his bartering senses kicked in.

"What about guns or ammo?"

"Well…I…yeah I might have a few. Darn it, no one ever buys the t-rex's" cliff grumbled but the customer didn't react as much the first time he shocked him.

"So you want to buy something?"

"Actually, I was wondering if a guy in a checkered coat came by here, he has something of mine"

The clerk turned his head to the wall the started to analyze his memorizes for any sign of a man in that description, and after a few moments he looked back at the courier with somewhat of an answer.

"No, can't say I do. You might have more luck with Manny or Boone, their our two spotters"

He partly felt relived that he would have more information on his murderer and the other was annoyed to have without a complete answer.

"Great, where can I find them?"

"Well, I think Manny should be on guard duty now so you can find him up the steps there" pointing to the rickety stairs leading up to the dinosaur's mouth.

"Otherwise it's Boone still sitting up there"

The courier gave a understandable nod and thanked the clerk before heading upstairs to the red door.

Not having a second thought, he opened the door with his eyes fixed on the handle. Upon closing it he immediately came face to face with a barrel of a rifle, he could almost see the bullet creep up the tube to his face but reluctantly it came down.

"God damn it don't sneak up on me like that, what do you want?" the man questioned

"Expecting visitors?" nervously chuckled

He chuckled also" yeah maybe I am, but not like you. What do you want?"

The courier peeked out behind the man's back and saw with the dim light some caravans coming through.

"If your looking for someone particular I can tip they off for you" using his charms to find anything particular.

"Yeah well if you see someone wearing legion crimson armor or a lot of sports equipment let me know. Why are you here anyway?'

"Just looking around"

"There's nothing up here"

"There's a sniper"

"I think you better leave"

"Do you treat everyone like this?"

He turned around to the red door, convinced that he wasn't going to be any help to him and was thinking of the other spotter cliff mentioned.

"Wait" he said almost like a whisper.

"You just came into town, maybe you shouldn't leave. Not just yet."

Courier turned back to him being a little impatient with the man but kept calm as a sign of politeness.

"Why is that?"

"I need someone, someone I can trust. You're a stranger that's a start"

He lifted an eyebrow toward him.

"You only trust strangers?"

"I said It was a start" he grunted "this town…nobody looks me straight in the eye anymore"

Courier crossed his arms "what do you want me to do?" as the man replied just as fast.

"I want someone to find something for me. I don't know if there's anything left but I need someone to try..." he said before a heavy sigh.

"My wife was taken from our home one night while I was on watch. They knew when to come and what route to take, and they only took Carla. Someone set it up. I don't know who"

"You're trying to track down your wife?"

He let out another grunt" my wife's dead, I want the son of a bitch that sold her"

"How do you know your wife's dead?"

"I know, all right? That's all you need to know"

"What do I do when I find this target of yours?"

The sniper let out a little grin as if he was imagining shooting himself shooting the seller right in the head with all the gut wrenching, blood splattering, brain exploding fun in killing.

"Bring him out in front of the nest here while I'm on duty. I'll give you my beret t put on. It'll be our signal, so I know your standing with him…and I'll take care of the rest, I need to do this myself"

Passing around the idea in the coeriers mind, he thought of helping with an assassination plan to kill a slave seller. Is it right to kill a slaver or should he tell the N.C.R of it?

"I'll see what I can do to help you out" he agreed

"Good, I'll make it worth your while." Handing over his beret while he talked. The courier reached out to acquire the red beret and as he got a grip and pulled it towards him, it was stopped with the mans stone grip preventing him from getting the beret.

"One more thing, we shouldn't speak again, not until it's over" letting go of the beret.

He put the dark red beret in his side pocket and headed to the door with no interruptions this time. By the time he reached the exit, he wondered how many people in this peaceful town were actually behind closed doors, evil?


	3. one for my baby I

The courier wandered around the town for quite some time, with his hands behind his back and wide steps. Getting to find a slaver was hard enough but in this town? All for what he knew, this whole town could be completely insane. Maybe he was trying to delay it; to extend the time of asking questions. But time flies when you don't use it. He checked his pip-boy. '_12:00-AM' _it read, he shrugged and sighed to himself "time to find a killer". First stop was the front desk of the motel and talk to Jeanie may about the spotter's wife. Passing the window of the reception, walking over the pile of concrete rubble followed by opening the crimson door to be met with an amber light reflected off the walls from the ceiling lights.

"Well hello there!" a perky voice coming from the front counter. "How are you doing this morning young man?" She spoke. Right away courier started asking questions" do you know anything about the man up in the dinosaur's mouth?" he questioned

"Manny?"

"No, the other spotter, the one that works nights"

"Yes, has that gentleman bothered you?"

He smiled a bit" no, I was wondering if you would answer some questions of mine."

"Well, I'll try my best"

"Do you know anything about his wife?"

"As much as anyone else around here. I heard she was taken by legion slavers one night but I figure she just up and left"

"Why do you say that?"

"She was never the woman to stay put, she got out from New Vegas and settled here with him but she always urged to get back to the bright lights. City folk who come here always don't appreciate our ways"

The courier felt a little lied to when he heard that the snipers wife had left on her own. Had he been blind in seeing that his wife left him? For that to be true he had to ask around more. With a charming smile and a polite "thank you" he left the reception and opened the crimson coloured door back into the ruined motel.

His eyes wandered looking for another individual who knows about the snipers wife next thing he knew, he was going door to door asking anyone if they knew about the spotter's wife. The courier knocked with no answer, then a muffled "_I'm coming!". _he leaned on the rim of the entryway and out came a Hispanic looking gentleman. He had a mercenary outfit on with a first recon beret on him same as the snipers. He also had a similar hunting rifle on his back, "I know I'm late, woke up late..." the sniper mumbled not paying attention to the figure until he looked up.

"Something I can help you with?" he uttered, still heavy from sleep

"Yeah, I was wondering about the guy in the dino's mouth, something about his wife."

"Him?" the sniper sneered

"He had his wife taken by salvers one night when he was on duty, so I heard. I don't know much, I was asleep when it happened. And after that, I had no one to argue too." Snickering at the end

"You didn't like her?"

"Hey, she was tying my buddy down. He didn't have much of a freedom back then and I find it more pleasant to sleep when the bitch is dead."

The conversation made courier cringe, an enemy of the wife? This could be a lead suspect, maybe this guy could be the seller.

"Look I need to go, got my duties to do. We'll talk later." Moving the courier aside and closing the door behind him but not locking it. When he was out of sight, he opened the door to snipers room to see a surprisingly clean room. With nothing that seemed to be of interest, he was about to close the door except a crunched up note was sitting on a coffee table next to the door. He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was looking and plucked the note out of the door and silently closed the door, walking away casually to the entrance of his motel room.

Courier unfolded the note when he finally got the bed and his body finally loosened up. From what he guessed, he was expecting the bill of sale that legions use for paper work. What he instead got was a note from a not very unfamiliar name.

_You did the right thing Manny for not ratting us out. This guy Benny said he'll pay us at boulder city, let's hope he does or the cheap ass of a man is getting the wasteland experience. _

The short note was enough information for him; he could just knock on Cass's door and say let's get a move on. But to leave a man confused to who sold his wife would get some people killed if this goes on. He folded the note into his side pocket where his ammo would normally go. He had to try one more time before deciding who the seller. Heading out once more he started with the merchants, then asking cliff if he knew her relationship.

The sun was punishing, around Novac asking everyone if they knew about the snipers wife. Around the back of the motel, courier fell on the side of a wall exhausted. He could not find a single person who knew about her relation. He knew that the culprit had to dislike her allot to sell her like Manny did but a slave seller would have to hid it like Jennie may. Just then a shadowed covered him, looking up he could see a old bearded man standing over him.

"We need to talk stranger; it's not safe speaking outside"

Courier looked confused when a stranger walks up to you and says they need to talk.

"Why?" he questioned lifting a eyebrow

The man walked right up to his ear and whispered

"I know who took his wife but we need to talk somewhere else"

Intrigued, he said to him to lead the way and the man started running toward a metal shack. Just in case, he checked the ammo in his side arm, full, then started a cautious walk toward the metal shack, Not knowing what to expect.

A.N:_** sorry this came out late, you know school and all. The next one will be late also but i'll try my best in keeping up to date with my**_**schedule.**__


	4. AN

A.N.: just as a note for people who read my stuff. I won't be writing a new chapter for this week cause of other subjects. So I won't be able to post a new chapter. Hope you understand, oh and if you are in the Rio fanfic stuff then check it out.


	5. one for my baby II

The shack was a complete mess of pre-war junk. There were coke bottles hung from the ceiling down to the ground like cluster grenades, add sandbags and two plastic showroom dolls and you have a strange place to live in.

"You shouldn't be asking questions about that woman boy" the mysteries man warned

"Why is that?"

He looked at the courier straight in the eye as if he'd seen the atomic bombs fall again with a straight face but a mad expression.

"It's Mole people! They come out of the ground to steal our young woman so they can breed successfully since there are no female moles."

Right off the bat the courier has been lead by the wrong information. Instead, he got a mad man talking about mole men and stealing woman for breeding. But maybe a good laugh will do him good, jump start and mind again so he continued listening to him.

"No Bark seen them every day and every minute, I see those little heads pop out of the ground and let no other living sole tell you otherwise! I was there when they took one of our spotter's wife while he was on duty and drag her into the dirt. I was hiding in a dumpster while it happened so they couldn't smell me, moles can't smell through the filth. When they took her I heard another woman, it was Jeanie may! She was selling her to those things because I recognized the sound of caps one of them gave before legging it. She was the one who sold her! A mole worshiper I call her." Almost Whispering at the end of the sentence.

That caught his attention about the kidnapping and the sale. It was fairly accurate to all the other stories he's been getting, excluding the mole people but still, it is hard evidence pointing its finger to Jeanie may, even though that finger belongs to a mad man. Courier finally had a lead to go on, as he shacked No barks hand with a quick thank you and sprinted out the door to find the sun gone. He checked his Pip-boy, eight-o-clock it read meaning Jeanie may not be in her office, however when he did reach the front desk she was about to leave.

"Awfully late to be dropping by, how can I help you dear?"

Idea's of response were limited to confronting her about it, getting her in front on the Dino and end her or check her safe, which meant stealing her key.

"Oh, nothing, Just dropping in to say hi"

Jeanie didn't suspect a thing "well thank you dear, give me a shout if you need anything" and with a smile she slipped past the courier, not noticing that her key was in his hands. These legion guys never had a slave sold without paper work. If Jeanie did get paid then there's a good chance that she had the paper work. Behind the counter there was a floor safe glowing with an amber glow, almost like jewels. among a swift turn with the key the safe opened and the contents were typical. Caps, cigarettes, finance documents, until he dug deep to find a brown, mangled piece of paper. Courier stood up and stepping back. It wasn't a pretty sight to behold, the couriers face turned pale and eyes widened with a cold sweat running down his neck. The evidence was true in its purest form; a bill of sale was printed out with the symbol of the bull at the top printed in crimson.

"Incredible" the courier mumbled. He could not bring himself to think a simple kind old woman running a motel would sell a slave to the legion; guess this proves the whole looks can be deceiving talk. With the evidence this all points Jeanie as the culprit, now he has to lure her with some bait, but what? Before the courier could even think about it, he was already at Jeanie's front door. Standing in front of a murderers door step really unsettled him, then again it's not like Nipton where everyone was killed by legion and the only ones alive were 5 powder gangers, a gruesome sight. He checked his pip-boy again to make sure it was the right time, nine-o-clock it showed. So with a long sigh he took out the red beret from his pocket then positioned it on his head then knocked on the door three times after that she opened the door with this surprised look on her face.

"Awfully late for someone to be dropping by dear, is there something wrong?"

"Yeah, there's something I think you should see out in front of the motel" courier lied

"Well if it's that important then." Said worryingly before walking past him on to the main road to the front of the Dino.

The whole way seemed to only last a few seconds because when the courier started following her, he was so caught up in his thoughts that the next thing he realized was standing at the back of Jeanie. Looking up he could see Jeanie may trying to see what the courier was mentioning.

"What was it that you were mentioning hu-"Jeanie's last words before her head became nothing but red cloud.

Blood was showering on top of him then noticed the body; it had been done before he realized anything. A quick one shot straight to the head, a rather good one in fact. So with the job done the courier headed to the mouth for his pay. Not that the courier had a problem killing people, to a certain extent, but it all depends how you kill. Being a hired lure is sinister in a way but if it's for the greater good then so be it. Opening the door he could see the spotter sitting on the jaw of the mouth with a small grin on his face. He turned his head half way to the direction of the courier covered in droplets of blood.

"So that's it then. How did you know?"

With no words, he reached in his left pocket and pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper out and tossed it to his direction, catching it in the air then unfolding and scanning the words that were written and just as quickly threw it out the mouth.

"Figures" he said plainly

"So what now?" courier asked with bits of curiosity

"Don't know, other than shooting anything that wears crimson there's not much for me do"

"You could come with me, we'll hunt the legion" the courier suggested

"You don't want to do that" the spotter said bluntly

"Don't snipers work better in teams?"

He let out a chuckle" yeah, if you go out alone you're a lot less affective, they tell you that from day one...Fine; I'll get my stuff and be waiting at the gate for you"

"Wait" the courier said before the spotter left

"I didn't get your name"

"Boone, names Boone"

Then walked past him but leaving a small token of appreciation in the courier's pocket. When the door closed behind him, he checked his pouch to find some caps sitting at the bottom, two-hundred of them he counted.

The courier went back to his room shivering a bit since helping in a murder plan to a elderly woman was a horrible experience, was it the right thing to do? Why couldn't he just bring her to the ranger station instead of helping murder her? Why did he agree in this crazy plan? The more he thought about it the more he started to regret it since he could have spared a life put still punish the evil side of her. But the he just brushed it off his mind when he noticed he was coated in dark, sticky blood from his chest to hair. Taking off his helmet, courier walked steadily his bathroom and looked at the mirror. His face was dotted in red gore looking like he just ate somebody. His body armor was dripping with plasma and bits of sand, plopping on the floor in a rhythm much like a clock. And with a swift turn on the sink faucet, courier washed off both blood and sand from his face the moved on to the armour. He ripped a piece of fabric from his queen bed mattress, dampening the fabric under the faucet and polishes his protection.

By the time he finished cleaning his gear. It's already three in the morning. With the tiredness of his arms that were trying to scrub off blood and the dizziness in his skull. The courier flopped on the mattress with nothing on except his underclothes and went to a relentless sleep.


End file.
